Amazon Web Services has launched a new tool that "lets anyone" construct environments in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and 3D to run on multiple platforms. Now in preview, Sumerian allows creation of VR and AR scenes that target platforms like the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Google Daydream, and it works with several other Amazon products. Sumerian also takes a note from Unreal's Blueprints interface, allowing creators with no coding experience to use a visual scripting tool to put together all the logic needed to make the world interactive.

AI support lets developers create animated 3D characters that can guide users through a scene by narrating scripts or answering questions. It comes with its own object library that's full of models that developers can use.

Amazon launched the project at midnight on Sunday at the launch of the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, which continues through this week.

This new Amazon service comes at a good time as developers now are more interested in building apps that support virtual reality and augmented reality, and the platform owners want to expand the potential of the device.

It's created to eliminate the need for specialized tools for tasks like 3D modeling, environmental design, animation, lighting effects, and audio editing, as well as the additional step of adapting AR and VR applications for different hardware platforms.

Asset Import: Upload 3D assets to use in your scene. Deploying those apps is also a problem, because each platform has its own unique specifications and processes that need to be tackled. From there, they can drag and drop a pre-built asset, such as a room or a piece of furniture.

In a press release, Marco Argenti, Vice President, Technology, AWS said, "Customers across industries see the potential of VR and AR technologies for a wide range of uses-from educating and training employees to creating new customer experiences".

Sumerian could be a step toward further popularising AR and VR applications, which now require specialised tools and skills to develop and deploy across different devices.

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